Take a spin through the world's largest bike museum, housed in a North Side warehous
Brian Ferraro stepped through the front door at Bicycle Heaven and stopped in his tracks.
The Rochester, New York resident scanned the endless sea of bicycles hanging from the ceiling, mounted on walls and covering nearly every square foot of floor space. His eyes darted from one familiar childhood memory to another.
“It’s like a dream come true," Ferraro, 53, said. “I have a lifelong love of bicycles. Just from the front door I see so many bikes I’ve never seen before. I already see the banana bike seats with the big ape-hanger handle bars that I grew up with. I see some mag wheels from the BMX bikes that I used to race as a kid.”
Ferraro had heard about Bicycle Heaven for years. His son had visited several times, sending photos and even called via FaceTime from inside the museum. On Thursday, Farrell finally made the pilgrimage himself while on a business trip to Pittsburgh.
It’s not hard to understand why bicycle lovers travel hundreds — and sometimes thousands — of miles to get here.
Bicycle Heaven, housed inside a cavernous two-story warehouse in the Casey Industrial Park on the North Side, bills itself as the world’s largest bicycle shop and bicycle museum, with more than 6,000 bicycles filling virtually every inch of the building.
Vintage Schwinns dangle from the rafters. Racing bikes hang on the walls. Rows upon rows of bicycles form a maze on the showroom floor that invites visitors to wander, stop and reminisce.
You’ll see the bicycle Tom Hanks rode in the movie “A Man Called Otto.” Around another corner is the iconic red-and-white Schwinn made famous by Paul Reubens’ character Pee-wee Herman in the 1985 movie “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”
Not every visitor arrives looking for memories. Some come simply to discover something they’ve never seen before.
Mackenzie Cyrus, 14, and her 12-year-old brother Adam, both of the North Hills, came to Bicycle Heaven on Thursday with their grandmother who suggested it would be a fun place to explore.
“We’re just looking, seeing all the historical stuff,” Mackenzie said. “I like the old bikes with the really big front wheels. I would love to learn how to ride one of those.
Adam, a Star Wars fan, was drawn to the bikes with oversized balloon tires. “I like the ones with the big fat wheels,” he said.
“It’s almost overwhelming,” said owner Craig Morrow, 76, of Ben Avon Heights. “I’ve got enough bikes hanging from the ceiling to create a whole new shop. There’s thousands of bikes on the ceiling alone.
“We have some of the rarest bikes in the world at the museum. We do a lot of bikes for movies — movie props and things like that,” he said.
Take a spin through the aisles
The collection is so vast it leaves just enough floor space for visitors to walk along pathways the bikes create.
There are classic Schwinns, Raleighs, Murrays, Hutch bikes, Sears models and even towering penny farthings with their humongous front wheels. Visitors can also find several rare bicycles designed by legendary Hollywood custom car builder George Barris, whose creations include the original Batmobile and the Munster family’s Koach.
Among its biggest attractions is the world’s largest collection of Bowden Spacelanders — 19 of the futuristic fiberglass bicycles — one of the rarest and most sought-after collectibles in the cycling world. One of them carries a $70,000 price tag — the shop’s most expensive item.
Some of the bikes on exhibit aren’t necessarily for sale though — like Paul Reuben’s bike from the movie.
“Because it’s part of Pittsburgh now. This is where it’s not in the bottom of the Alamo in the basement,” said Morrow, adding “people who have seen the movie will know that.” On the second floor, Morrow keeps the 1985 movie playing on repeat to create nostalgia and a connection to the bike.
While visitors come to marvel at the museum, Bicycle Heaven is far more than a showroom. Morrow sells used and antique bicycles. He gets a lot of business repairing bikes for riders traveling the nearby Great Allegheny Passage trail toward Washington, D.C. And he ships hard-to-find vintage parts to collectors across the country and overseas.
The museum is preparing to host its 16th annual Bike Show and Swap Meet on Aug. 15 and 16, bringing together vendors selling antique and classic bicycle parts, along with new bicycle dealers. Customers receive free admission to the swap meet. Admission to the museum is $15 for visitors ages 5 and older, with discounts available for seniors, military members and groups.
“I think I’m more known around the country than in Pittsburgh,” Morrow said.
Pedaling his dream
The story of Bicycle Heaven grew from one man’s fascination with bicycles — and a chance encounter with a bike that had been thrown away.
More than four decades ago, Morrow spotted a discarded bicycle in a junk pile while driving. He hauled it home, restored it and gave it to a child in his Bellevue neighborhood.
Then another child wanted one.
“And then his friend wanted a bike,” he said. “Another kid wanted a bike, then the parents wanted bikes. I ended up running a small bicycle shop in an alleyway in Bellevue.”
At the time, Morrow made a living painting custom automobiles. But after years of breathing paint fumes, he decided it was time for a change. Restoring old bicycles combined his love of working with his hands and his passion for antiques and collectibles.
“I was always into antiques and collectibles and stuff like that,” he said. “So, I started finding vintage bicycles and started fixing those up. And that’s how it started.”
That hobby steadily grew into a business, then into a collection and eventually, into Bicycle Heaven. Morrow has spent more than 40 years collecting bicycles and the past 15 years building the museum into what has become an internationally recognized destination.
Creating it required plenty of sweat equity.
Morrow and a friend painstakingly restored the warehouse’s original wooden floors, applying three coats of lacquer to achieve the gleaming finish that still welcomes visitors today. Every bicycle, every vintage sign on the walls, every historical artifact reflects decades of searching, collecting and restoring.
Now, Morrow has begun thinking about what happens after he’s no longer able to keep Bicycle Heaven going himself.
“A lot of people always ask me what’s going to happen with the museum and the shop and everything,” he said. “I’m always thinking ahead. Something’s gonna happen to me someday.”
His son and wife both work at Bicycle Heaven, making it a true family business. But Morrow hopes the museum’s future ultimately extends beyond his family.
“We’re really hoping for the city of Pittsburgh or somebody who can invest in another building and keep it in Pittsburgh,” he said.
The concern is more pressing as plans move forward for a massive redevelopment of the nearby $740 million Esplanade project, which will reshape the North Side riverfront, and potentially make the warehouse increasingly attractive to developers if the property owner ever decides to sell.
Morrow said he’s already fielded interest from outside the region.
“People in Cleveland have talked to me about moving the museum to Cleveland,” he said.
“Because they’re building along the lake. It’s a big project, but I don’t want to go to Cleveland,” he said. “I want to keep it here in Pittsburgh.”
Tim Grant is a business reporter who has covered personal finance and real estate in the Pittsburgh region since 2007. He can be reached at 412-779-5834